Firstborn
by skyfire146
Summary: Her life was not her own; it belonged to her siblings. For she was the oldest Uchiha sibling and had a duty above any mission to protect her family.  Plus, add some Uzumaki kids and an Inuzuka or two and there's a lot to worry about.  2nd Generation Fic.
1. You Know That Cliff?

**Here I am! Hehe, time for a second generation fanfic, which, yes, I know there's quite a few here, but I couldn't resist. :P This'll be centering mainly around Sasuke and Sakura's children (and, yes, I will explain how Sasuke isn't all angry and hated anymore, although I've only watched up the first series right now and may not know how far he's actually gone) as well as Naruto and Hinata's kids. Yay! Party! All night!**

**Okay, cool. I'll stop wasting your time. But first...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Darn, doesn't that suck.**

**I can never come off very witty in those things... **

* * *

><p>"Big Sister!"<p>

The 16 year old Uchiha glanced up from her reading, eyes narrowing. Her long dark hair was kept in a constant long ponytail, bangs hanging over typical Uchiha obsidian eyes.

"Kaori!" The cry sounded once again as the youngest Uchiha slid into the study, her bright green eyes almost frantic. "Raiden got hurt doing something stupid. Again."

Kaori nodded, albeit also sighing. Honestly, it was about time. Raiden usually had an average of about three or four times a week. It was Friday and he still only had two instances under his belt. However, that was the way of the world for the troublesome middle sibling and it was her and Kazumi's job to fix him up before their mother or father got a whiff of it.

She got up, carefully bookmarking her spot in her book, and they left the room together. "You'd better show me to him, Kazumi. Although next time you could be careful not to yell it through the house."

Kazumi's face turned to an embarrassed grin. "Sorry, Kaori."

Kaori ruffled the ten-year-old's shoulder-length hair, smiling only slightly. "Let's go, short stuff."

"You know, Raiden calls me that now too!"

"Good."

"Before long, everyone will be calling me that!"

"Good."

Kazumi glared at her sister with that patented glare their mother gave when no one had taken out the trash like they were supposed to. Even their emerald eyes were the same. Those green eyes. They reminded Kaori so much…

Of a moment in her life she regretted more than anything.

"Big Sis?"

Kazumi had caught the strange look in her sister's eyes and it confused her. Sometimes it felt like Kaori was a million miles away in some world of her own where no one could find her. But, she'd always been like that: stoic, detached, just like their father in every way.

Kaori smiled a tiny bit, but Kazumi couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her actually grin. "I'm fine, Kazumi-chan. Just where's Raiden?"

Kazumi's face wrinkled up, foretelling the bad news that Kaori was no going to like. "You know that huge cliff just outside of town?"

Kaori scowled. "You gotta be kidding me."

* * *

><p>Uchiha Raiden was not the smartest when it came to good old common sense.<p>

Of course, Kaori knew this and, even as she was patching him up with her healing jutsu, he could feel disapproval radiating off of her. But that was always how it was, Kaori's disapproval mixed with Kazumi's scolding (which, to be frank, was becoming a helluva lot similar to Mom's) and Raiden just sitting there and taking it cause it was a good damn bit better than listening to the same rap from Mom and Dad.

"And we should turn you in to Mom and Dad right now, if we knew what was good for you, but no, we're good sisters and we cover for your butt, but really, Raiden, how many more times is this going to happen? I mean…"

Oh, yeah, that was Kazumi's ranting in the background.

Kaori broke it with a single question. "Where's Minami?"

Uzumaki Minami- his partner in crime, yet at the same time, the bane of his very existence. He would never have actually gotten hurt if it hadn't been for her. "She already went home."

"Before you had even gotten help?" Kaori asked in that quiet, critical way of hers. "How… thoughtful of her."

Raiden's dark eyes flashed as he shot a glare at his unflinching older sister. "Goddamn it, Kaori, it's not like she's a saint. Plus, I didn't want her here when the clean-up crew finally got to aisle seven."

Kaori lifted her eyes from the healing, having completed it. "Just commenting, Raiden. No need to get angry." She raised an eyebrow, seeing that this obviously got him riled up. "Why, have you come around to defending her all of a sudden?"

Raiden looked away, a brooding look coming to his eyes. "No."

No way was Uzumaki Minami his friend. She was the village pain-in-the-ass, the one that everyone wanted to just shut up for even two seconds. God, why had he even started to hang out with her in the first place?

_He and Minami had met after training late this afternoon, just to have someone to argue with, mostly, when they had come to the cliff. This was when Raiden's eyes lit up. _

"_Okay, I got a challenge. But, if I win, you have to promise to shut up for a whole two hours."_

"_Aw, a whole two hours?" The spiky-haired blonde kunoichi complained, but the fact that she had been challenged meant there was no way she could back down. "Fine. But, if I win, you have to admit that you're a pansy, Uchihas suck, and Uzumakis will always better."_

"_Exact wording?" The dark-haired, dark-eyed Uchiha made a face._

"_Exact wording."_

"_Okay, fine."_

"_So…" Minami narrowed her eyes, "What's the challenge?" _

"_See that cliff?" Raiden squinted against the sunlight, pointing toward it. "We get to the top and then we both close our eyes and walk forward. The one to get closest to the edge of the cliff without stopping wins."_

"_You're on!" Minami yelled, running toward the cliff._

_So… the whole closing-your-eyes-and-walking-off-a-cliff thing was probably where the trouble started in the first place. It is assumed now that SOMEONE fell. _

_Hey, at least he had caught himself a bit before he hit the ground. Otherwise he'd be in a lot worse shape._

Kaori broke his trance. "Wanna tell me what happened this time?"

Raiden winced. So, that idea hadn't been his finest one. "I don't know that you'll quite appreciate my explanation."

"Hn," Kaori commented back.

Kazumi frowned at Raiden's lack of an explanation, although she and Kaori usually got nothing for their troubles anyway. At some point, she didn't really care, as long as Raiden ended up in one piece by the end and Mom and Dad didn't know anything. It's not that they were particularly strict, but that Raiden had many strikes to his name already. There was the stealing of the Hokage's special ramen (Naruto-sama hadn't been very happy with that one, although it had been Minami's idea), the wrangling of Akamaru for the purpose of some kind of rodeo (which only ended up well for Akamaru as Raiden got a beating from both the dog and a furious Kiba-san), and the cutting of Ino-san's hair (which, thankfully, was unsuccessful or else the whole village might have gone down in flames of rage).

Raiden's face was cautious as he looked for an opening in Kaori's defenses. "She said that Jiraiya is back from his mission though."

A flash of something flitted across her face, but it was gone quickly, and her voice remained neutral. "That's good."

Raiden had mentioned the oldest Uzumaki boy in hopes that Kaori would be distracted (she always seemed to have had a soft spot for him, after two years on the same team and after all that had happened during the last few), but apparently it had only worked for a moment. He should've known better. His older sister was in ANBU now. She wasn't going to fall for those kinds of tricks.

Kaori looked toward the setting sun, noting the time, and stood, turning her back and walking away. For a moment, Raiden thought she was turning her back on _them, _her siblings of all people, and he was frozen from his seat on the ground.

Kazumi, ever the charming little sister, flicked him on the side of the head, grinning. "C'mon, Raiden. We're gonna be late for dinner if we just sit around like this. You know how mad Mom gets when we're late!"

Then he remembered. Kaori was the firstborn Uchiha. She had to protect them.

* * *

><p><strong>Cool! That's the end of the chapter! Also, just to clarify, Jiraiya is Naruto's kid cause Naruto named him after everyone's favorite Pervy Sage. He's totes my favorite character after Kakashi and I already have found out that he dies, despite the fact that I haven't even gotten to the second series yet. This sucks... Yeah, I'm stuck in the seventy-thousand filler episode run at the end of the first series. I'm about to loose my mind!<strong>

**Okay, until later! :D **


	2. A Chipper Uchiha

**Second chapter! I don't really have much to say here… so enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The sun was barely coming over the hill and a knock sounded throughout the house of Uzumaki Jiraiya.<p>

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed golden boy groaned, rolling over in bed. Ever since he had joined ANBU, he decided his own place was a good idea. Now he was starting to think it was a bad idea: People always knew where to find him.

The knocking was much too persistent. He answered the door in his boxers and white t-shirt, eyes squinting sleepily. "What?"

There was Uchiha Kaori, looking prim and proper in her shinobi gear and jounin vest, which she was still in the habit of wearing despite her new job. She brushed back her bangs, fixing him with her obsidian eyes. "Morning, Uzumaki. Ready for training?"

He looked at her for a full thirty seconds, eyebrows drawn down as he tried to process exactly what was happening. He had just gotten back from his mission the evening before in a rush and flurry of action; a mission that, quite frankly, had involved too much killing for him to feel clean after, even after several showers. Six months (about 14 missions) in ANBU and he was still puking after almost every mission.

He was in no shape to be going out to train. The new scar he'd acquired on this latest mission wrapped around his side and ached every time he moved. His head was throbbing, his feet were still killing him, and the bed was ever so comforting. All were reasonable excuses for telling this Uchiha girl she was crazy. But then again, where was the fun in staying in bed all day?

He blinked, opening the door wider to invite Kaori in. "Wait here while I get ready."

* * *

><p><em>He's more upbeat, <em>she realized quickly, standing in the living quarters of his small apartment-style home. _This must be a good day. _Perhaps he was getting back into the flow of things, moving with the times, but she wasn't complaining. To be honest, sometimes she missed the old him, before everything had changed. Then again, the mornings were always the best with him: he hadn't had as much time awake to waste time thinking.

The great Uzumaki Jiraiya, named after one of the great Sannin and the teacher of the Fourth and Sixth Hokage. Quite unlike his sister Minami, he was the perfect Hokage's son- the shinobi every ninja student wanted to be like- in ANBU for six months now and still only sixteen. But he wasn't without faults, especially recently. Then again, he never was going to be the same after that day that had once again been Kaori's fault- one of the things that haunted her.

But there were a lot of things she didn't want to remember and so she pushed them to the back of her mind, instead observing the mess around her. She walked to the entrance to Jiraiya's bedroom, an eyebrow raised critically.

"Your place is a real craphole," the dark-haired kunoichi remarked as Jiraiya rummaged through his drawers, looking for a clean shirt. Most of his laundry was scattered on the floor anyway, so it's not like he had much to choose from.

"I appreciate your directness," the Uzumaki answered bluntly, finally finding one that passed the smell test (a plain gray shirt with short sleeves) and putting it on. "But, at the same time, I honestly don't care."

Kaori shrugged from her spot, finding this to be an acceptable answer.

While rummaging around in his drawer for something else, Jiraiya's head suddenly shot up as he looked around for his clock. "Crap, what time is it? I have a mission report due at ten this morning. I gotta have enough time to do that."

"Relax, Jiraiya-kun," the girl replied, leaning against the doorframe. "It's only six."

Jiraiya made a noncommittal grunting noise. "Because obviously you don't like sleep."

"Correction." Kaori pointed out matter-of-factly. "I don't need sleep."

Then came another one of Jiraiya's vague grunts. The girl smirked slightly, eyes examining the profile of the grumpy sleep-deprived shinobi in front of her. "Obviously I should wait a bit before trying to talk to you. You seem to be a bit ornery."

That was the longest observation he had hear from her in a long time.

"A chipper Uchiha in the morning," Jiraiya grumbled as he grabbed a pair of shorts to change into. "Just peachy."

* * *

><p>Things got going quickly. As Jiraiya had learned from his countless trainings with his partner, Kaori pretty much took everything she did extremely seriously. Especially ninja business.<p>

"Rusty on your katana skills?" Kaori taunted as their two blades clashed against each other. Jiraiya grunted, a bead of sweat running down his temple as they struggled against each other. As always, the kunoichi's extreme strength (courtesy of her mother) had him hard-pressed, but he had some tricks up his sleeve as well.

"Nope. Just testing ya, hotshot."

He flipped backwards onto a nearby tree branch, disengaging the struggle for the moment, but she came after him with a vengeance, hot on his heels. He had to get her off his back, even if it was just for a second. It was a bit tricky forming the seals with a katana in his hand, but he did it all the same and as quickly as he could.

"Wind Style: Wind Dragons."

Two twin dragons of wind raced toward Kaori, jaws outstretched. The Uchiha regarded them calmly and momentarily closed her eyes, forming a sign of her own. "Fire Style: Mythical Fire Flower."

The flames she spit out tore through the weaker element wind dragons, proving super effective. Yet, they continued past the defeated dragons toward Jiraiya in the form of flaming shurikens, spinning rapidly. The ANBU dodged them quickly however, reflexes fine-tuned enough to not be defeated by a few simple throwing weapons. Kaori landed on the tree branch opposite him.

Jiraiya saw his chance and leaped in for close range, katanas clashing yet again. His most powerful ninjutsu style (wind) was predominantly weak against Kaori's fire and he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere using that. Then again, he had been dealing with that fact ever since he and Kaori had fought as ninja students and knew his way around it. While Kaori was stronger than him in ninjutsu, he was more than a match for her in taijutsu.

Time to make this a little trickier.

He blocked her next katana blow with his sandaled foot and winced as it bit into his thick shoe, stopping at the thin line of ultra-strong metal that protected shinobi's feet from landing on any shuriken. Still, they weren't swinging hard enough to do any real damage and it was worth it just to see the stunned look on her face. And both his hands were free to form a sign while she wasn't ready. "Wind Release: Wind Spear."

True to its name, a spear of pure moving air formed in his free hand. She pulled her sword back, eyes calculating as he could see her strategizing. He put both feet on the ground and engaged Kaori again. However, she had no way to defend against two weapons and he held back her katana with his, stabbing his spear toward Kaori's shoulder. However, the Uchiha flipped back and onto the ground before the spear made contact, sticking her katana in the ground momentarily while forming her own hand signals.

"Fire Release: Flame Sword."

Mildly amused, Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Double-bladed combat, huh?"

The ghost of a smile danced across Kaori's face. "You like?"

"Of course."

They came at each other again, this time more of a graceful dance than a struggle: Steel on steel, wind on fire, and the variations between. Any onlooker would've thought that it looked carefully choreographed, a pre-planned exercise finally being put to test. However, it was more due to the fact that every movement was so carefully read and interpreted that they could predict each other's movements and move in tandem, never injuring each other any more than a few scrapes or cuts. Yet, all this accomplished and neither of them had activated their kekkai genkai.

Finally, the Uzumaki boy saw his opening. Kaori was still a little green with her katana (still waiting for her first ANBU mission so she could actually use it) and was prone to rookie mistakes, despite her obvious ability to handle situations and weapons when the need arose. Still, he found the opportunity to slide his katana past hers, efficiently disarming one of her hands with a flick of his wrist. He then shoved her forward and she faltered, backing into a tree as her back hit it and her breath flew out of her. With his wind spear, he pinned her flame sword to the tree, then drew back his katana for a harmless flick to her cheek, just enough to draw blood.

But his katana struck metal instead of skin.

She had brought up her hand just in time to catch the katana's blade on the edge of the steel plates that reinforced the backs of her gloves. _Of course, _he thought to himself, gritting his teeth. _Why didn't I remember about those? _Her gloves were specially made because of her ability with fire (and a certain jutsu that she was working on that she wouldn't tell anyone about), but they often had a double use.

Her face was pulled back into a snarl as a flicker of the Sharingan appeared in her eyes. When she really got into a battle, he would sometimes see her doujutsu slightly exceed her control, but it usually quickly receded. Now was the case, as the red faded from her eyes and her eyes suddenly flicked to his side.

Jiraiya also glanced down and spotted the growing wet stain on his side that was most definitely his own blood. He groaned. He knew that wound from yesterday wasn't healed enough. He hadn't even noticed it until now, but he'd obviously aggravated it with his battling.

Kaori released her hold on the flame sword still gripped in her hand, which slowly dissolved as soon as she let go. She also lowered her fist from where it blocked the katana and then used both hands to push up his shirt. Holding it up with one hand, she pressed the other one to his side, the glowing green power around it healing up his cut.

"Stupid boy," she muttered, face not far from his heaving chest. "You decided not to go to the hospital to get this looked at, didn't you?"

Jiraiya gave a haphazard grin. "No experienced shinobi likes hospitals. Besides, you know me, Kaori-chan. Never one to lie useless in bed."

She raised an eyebrow dryly. "I'm pretty sure that's why I have to continually patch you up."

"That and the fact that you and I both have a habit of throwing ourselves in front of danger," he added playfully, grinning.

The hand that held his side steadily shook for a moment, but she set her jaw, focusing for a few more seconds as the wound was healed up. She ran a thumb over his new, healed skin, checking her handiwork. "No," she corrected him, not shying from the truth. "It finds us. Way too much."

The grin slid off Jiraiya's face and Kaori immediately felt guilty for saying it. He had been enjoying himself, grinning, laughing. Today had been a _good _day. She didn't mean to bring him back to reality, but she was much too truthful to begin with and she couldn't help her nature. "Well," the blonde-haired shinobi answered slowly, "Everyone's luck has to change at some point, right?"

"Right," the kunoichi murmured, not moving. She almost took pity on him with this agreement, not having the heart to do her usual shoulder shrug.

There were a few moments of silence in which neither of them moved. How could they pass the long silence in which neither of them really wanted to talk about the real issue? There was so much history between them that saying anything could be the wrong thing and neither wanted to risk that.

Kaori was the first one to snap out of it, but only to mutter at him. "Hold still while I heal your other wounds."

Jiraiya squirmed slightly in protest, but was calmed the second he felt Kaori's familiar chakra again. "Okay, fine," he conceded, then continued onto conversation that was on more stable ground, "Your dad still on his mission?"

The girl nodded, her bangs falling over her face, but didn't say anything.

"I thought he was supposed to get back last night? He's the head of ANBU, since when does he even go out on missions?"

She shrugged this time, obviously trying to downplay it. Oh, the intricate, detailed responses one gets from an Uchiha. Still, Jiraiya knew how to act and seemed unconcerned, that in itself reassuring Kaori. "I'm sure he's just a little delayed. Besides, he didn't help my father save the entire village for nothing, ya know?"

"I know," Kaori answered, even a bit forcefully due to her worry. The Uzumaki-Uchiha duo, that was her father and Naruto-sama. And it was the same reason she couldn't ever let Jiraiya go. They were supposed to watch each other's backs, from the start to finish. How many times had her father ingrained that into her mind?

"Done," she finally announced, stepping back.

"Back to beating each other up?" Jiraiya grinned, getting a better grip on his katana.

Kaori looked at him as if it was obvious. "What else would we do?"

* * *

><p>They finally wore themselves out about two hours later. <em>Because that's has to happen for us to ever finish, <em>Jiraiya reflected wryly. _We have to fight 'til we can't move anymore. _But they kept each other sharp. The atmosphere they had right now was almost the same as it was before _it _happened, before his innocence died. Kaori was the only way he could move past it, yet, when he stepped back to look at her sometimes, he couldn't help but feel the guilt and pain and suffering all over again, and he would crawl back in his shell like a turtle. It was a double-edged sword. But now was… good. Now was reassuring. Now was a good day. And he wanted to keep these moments forever as a reminder when the bad times and the nightmares came back.

"Breakfast?" The dark-haired kunoichi asked him, the hint of a smile showing through her exhausted eyes. "Kazumi's attempting to make pancakes."

Jiraiya nodded emphatically. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>"And then I put in the flour… Raiden, how many cups of that again?"<p>

Silence.

"Raiden-kun. How many cups of flour?"

This time there was the sound of a snore, in which Kazumi's face turned red with anger. "UCHIHA RAIDEN, YOU BETTER NOT BE SLEEPING RIGHT NOW!"

The middle child's head shot straight up. "Uh, huh- what- yeah, Kazumi, you're doing it right," he muttered, doing his best to pretend he had been awake the whole time despite his drooping eyelids. "And two plus two equals five…" At this, his head went back down on the counter and he drifted off again.

It is sufficient enough to say that Jiraiya and Kaori walked in on Kazumi bawling hysterically while Raiden, awake now, desperately tried to get her to stop. However, when he went near the youngest Uchiha, she promptly whacked him over the head with a frying pan, and then went back to crying. Kaori watched amusedly as Jiraiya quickly intervened, prying the frying pan from the ninja student's grip and holding on to her.

"She's psychotic!" Raiden gasped, holding his head gingerly. "All I did was fall asleep!"

"You _said _you would help me!" Kazumi glared tearfully, trying to fight her way out of Jiraiya's grip. "You're just a meanie."

"No," Raiden defended himself, "_You _said I would help you. I got dragged into this!"

"Well, then you don't get any pancakes, mister!" Kazumi yelled back, making motions as if she was going to throttle Raiden. When crying wouldn't work, she resorted to anger, but with the two combined… There was nothing Raiden could do.

Jiraiya looked to Kaori for help, who simply shrugged. This was a simple skirmish between siblings; it wasn't her battle. Jiraiya rolled his eyes, taking the situation into his own hands. He loosened his grip a little bit on the struggling ninja student and appealed to her sense of reason. "Kazumi, how about I help you out and Raiden can go back to sleeping?"

"Well, not much point to that cause I'm up now," Raiden muttered under his breath, tracing circles on the counter with his finger.

Kazumi ignored this comment and grinned up at the Uzumaki boy, the picture of innocence. "Aw, thanks, Jiraiya! I like you a lot better than I like Raiden-kun anyway!"

Jiraiya grinned winningly while Raiden rolled his eyes and rested his chin on the counter. "Now I'm trying to compete with the village golden boy for the heart of my own sister. Great."

However, as soon as Jiraiya started helping the youngest Uchiha, everything went a lot smoother. Although Jiraiya was no chef, he was certainly much better than Kaori (who had people complain of food poisoningafter eating her cooking) and Kazumi was in good hands. Kaori and Raiden sat at the counter as Jiraiya and Kazumi flipped pancakes and the conversation flowed easily. Just family, friends, and pancakes and Kaori had never felt more at home.

"Kaori-chan, you want butter and syrup?"

"Yes, please."

"Jiraiya, give me the big chocolate chip one. Pleeeeease?"

"Of course, Kazumi."

"Raiden, quit using your hands and go get a fork and knife."

"But that's stupid. I'm not even using any syrup!"

"Jiraiya-kun, explain to him why he needs to eat like a civilized person."

"Raiden, listen to your older sister and eat like a civilized person."

"But, Kaori, Jiraiya's not using a fork and knife either!"

"Hn. Uzumaki Jiraiya, you are setting a horrible example."

The blonde-haired Uzumaki boy gave a disarming grin for an answer and then took a bite of pancake. "Speaking of setting horrible examples, any idea where Hayato's been lately?"

"Hn," was Kaori's response, although Jiraiya wouldn't exactly call it a response. Inuzuka Hayato was hardly the stellar shinobi with his knack of hitting on girls and overall reckless nature, and with Raiden looking up to him as if he was a god, Kaori had her issues with the happy-go-lucky, idealistic dog boy. If Jiraiya were to truly look at the situation, he would say that Kaori and Hayato had way too much difference between them to ever stop being at each other's throats, but they were both his best friends and so they hung out in the same group and behaved like good little shinobi (excluding certain incidents).

"I don't know, but I haven't been able to find him anywhere either," Raiden commented, mouth full of pancake in a very attractive way.

Kaori's eyes flashed in annoyance as she cut her own food. "Why are you talking to him anyway?"

"Well, he gives me advice on how to piss off Daisuke-" Raiden explained, naming his rival on his genin team, headed by Inuzuka Kiba- "because he says that both Daisuke and you have a stick up your butt and he's has plenty of experience pissing you off, so, in essence, we're both dealing with the same issue."

The eldest Uchiha bit her tongue, half-growling. Hayato was the only one who could really get a rise out of her; otherwise, she was as cool as a cucumber. Something about his blatant lack of respect or personal space just got on her nerves like nothing else. He was a total smooth operator who thought he totally knew what he was doing, yet he also wore his heart on his sleeve like a total moron.

Kazumi grinned innocently from her spot beside Jiraiya. "Now that you mention it, yeah, Kaori does have a stick up her butt just like Daisuke."

Kaori went back to eating. _Was there a time when I was enjoying being around my family?_

* * *

><p>Traveling over the grassy knoll, the dark-haired pursuer caught sight of his prey.<p>

Going into the cliff face. A tricky maneuver except for the fact that he wasn't afraid to follow. Some would be, especially with prey of this caliber, but not him. In fact, he wanted this man's head more than anyone else, besides the brother he had hunted down mercilessly and gone into the darkness for. Because he would never lose himself like that again, not after everything he put people through. Everyone always told him now that he had a family to think about, but his family was all he was thinking about right now.

He took off so fast for the cliff face, it was almost as if he had teleported to the base. He was head of ANBU. _No one_ screwed with him. He took this mission on his own because of that fact. He chose this mission.

Using his chakra, he walked up the cliff face to the tunnel in the rock and peered inside. Darkness, all of it. The obsidian eyes that flashed so pale now would never turn Sharingan-red again, he knew that, but if only he could goddamn see something. But no worries. He'd walk through it anyway. He had senses other than just sight.

Walking in complete darkness, he couldn't help but remember that day when Naruto chased him down through the tunnel. Now he was the pursuer. Funny how much life flip-flopped.

The sound of movement from his left. He tensed, drawing the katana on his back, like any ANBU would have.

There was definitely someone there. There seemed to be a separate tunnel coming off of the main one and that was where he had gone. He came closer to the junction, tensing, with his katana at the ready when he turned the corner and held himself in an attacking position and-

Damn it. A distraction.

He heard the whoosh from behind, and turned just quick enough to deflect the three shuriken thrown at him. They were still playing with children's toys and he knew there was much more in store. "I know you're there, hiding," he said calmly, in an almost bored manner so as to disguise the fact that his muscles were itching for excitement, "Like the rat you are. Where's the Inuzuka boy?"

Besides, no matter how bad he wanted to kill this man, he had to remember his mission first.

He figured the voice wouldn't answer back, but it did, reverberating in the tunnel. "Around. But, that's not what you really came here for, is it? Uchiha."

Uchiha Sasuke didn't bother replying, instead forming a plan in his head. He didn't even have to think about it twice, just ran through it once and knew he'd have the bastard. He heard the slight movement of footsteps walking away and so he followed them, treading lightly.

That's when he sensed a body ahead of him. Was it-

He knelt, feeling for a pulse. It was faint, but this was definitely the Inuzuka kid.

"Go ahead, complete your mission," the voice mocked, playing on exactly what Sasuke was thinking. "With any luck, the kid'll die, but you might still be able to save him if you hurry. Sorry for the damage. He just got in the way."

_Damn you, Kiba, for ever having kids, _he thought to himself, knowing he was going to have to let him go. Sasuke of the past would've said, screw the kid that got in the way, I'm getting what I want. However, Sasuke of the past also would've died a long time ago in his own hatred.

"Just know that I'm coming for them."

That was when the Uchiha's thin strand of self-control almost snapped. "I will kill you before you get within a mile of them," he snarled, muscles quivering with the effort of staying where he was, holding himself back, so that this boy lying on the ground in front of him (the same boy, which he couldn't help but remember in the back of his mind, drove his eldest insane) could have Inuzuka devil's spawn of his own someday. _A truly worthy cause, _Sasuke thought sarcastically.

But he would walk away from here first, like he walked away without killing his brother. Like he walked away from all his nightmares of revenge all those years ago. He would be the one to walk away. And so he picked up the Inuzuka boy and turned his back- turned his back on his enemy- just to show that he had nothing to be scared of. Just to show the arrogance that he would never lose. Just to say, _attack me. I dare you. _

But nothing happened and Uchiha Sasuke emerged from the tunnel and took off as fast as he could go, some part of him hoping they could get an elite tracking team here in time to pick up some of his scent, but knowing that his enemy wouldn't be that careless.

Like he said before, all he was doing right now was thinking of his family.

_Just know that I'm coming for them._


	3. Memories, Secrets, and Flirting Inuzukas

_He couldn't breathe._

_They were gone, all of them. It was like the Uchiha massacre all over again. He couldn't get it out of his head- it just went in a loop around and around and around like some kind of sick merry-go-round, only flashing him an image every time he passed by. _

_He was running again, eyes searching, straining for some clue as to where they were or who took them or how hurt they were. Sakura, Kaori, Raiden, Kazumi, Sakura, Kaori, Raiden, Kazumi. And Tatsuya. How could he have forgotten Tatsuya? _

_But he looked at the picture again, in it's gold frame, and realized that, among the smiling faces of his family, Tatsuya wasn't there. _

_Sakura, Kaori, Raiden, Kazumi._

_Again, their names flew around his head, a flock of birds against the bright blue sky. But Tatsuya. _

_Then he remembered panicked green eyes as they searched his face, cutting at his heart every time they passed over. The blood on his hand- all he could see was red- figuratively and metaphorically._

_But then the memory was gone and he was looking at the picture frame again, puzzling over it with eyebrows drawn down in consternation. _

_Where was Tatsuya?_

* * *

><p>"Sasuke?"<p>

His eyes flew open as the image of his wife formed in front of him. She was fine, they were fine, and nothing was wrong. Tatsuya was gone, but they were still here. He would make sure they would still be here.

He was still at the hospital, having fallen asleep in the armchair beside the Inuzuka boy's bed. He had been in critical condition and he wanted to stay, not so that he could be sentimental and soft, but so he could make sure his mission had been completed.

At least that's what he told himself. Also, the nurses wanted to take a look at him before he was sent home.

"Hey, honey," Sakura said softly, bending down and kissing his temple. "Sorry to wake you up, but we checked you out. You can head home now."

The dark-haired shinobi smirked, attempting to wrap an arm around her waist as she walked by. "Someone was checking me out? I would hope that it was you."

Sakura bit back a smile as she checked on the injured boy's vitals. "Go home, troublesome Uchiha, and quit harassing the nurses. Your kids miss you."

"Only one nurse," he corrected, standing up carefully, still a bit unsteady on his feet. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," Sakura answered quietly, "Although Kaori's getting anxious for her first ANBU mission. They still haven't sent her one."

The statement was a prying one, if anything. Then again, once Sakura had something between her teeth, it wasn't very likely that she was going to let go. Sasuke shrugged, walking forward to stand beside the bed of the Inuzuka. "Both Naruto and I agree on assignments to the correct ANBU members. We haven't found the right mission for her yet."

Sakura have him a knowing look. "Uchiha Sasuke. You let Naruto choose the missions Jiraiya goes on and I know it. You have control over it. It's been two and a half weeks since she was officially asked in and she's still got nothing."

Sasuke decided that he didn't like how this conversation was going, but he simply shrugged. "She'll have to be patient."

"You know that you can't protect her forever."

"That's not what I'm doing," he answered, tensing in his defense. The voice still rang in his head.

_Just know that I'm coming for them._

"Okay," the pink-haired medic answered slightly dubiously, straightening the injured boy's blanket and turning for the door. "Hayato should be fine then. I'll see you at home."

He caught her wrist before she left, kissing her, lips lingering on hers. "It's good being back," he simply said, yet knowing that it meant much more than that. It meant the things that he rarely said: _I love you, I miss you, I'm sorry, I wouldn't be here without you. _And she understood that.

She smiled back, emerald green eyes smiling along with her. "Good. Cause Kazumi's been bugging anyone to teach her her first fire style technique."

He smiled slightly. "I will in the morning."

"And I love you too."

Eyes caught and Sasuke traced the line of Sakura's jaw with his thumb carefully, kissing her one more time before leaving. "I know."

Because it was his salvation every time.

* * *

><p>When he got home, the first room he went to was Kazumi's.<p>

It was pink and frilly and pretty and everything Sasuke hated, but it was just so Kazumi and he couldn't help from smiling slightly when he saw it. She was lying peacefully asleep, a slight breeze from the open window ruffling her hair.

He didn't want to wake her, but he just smoothed back her hair and kissed her forehead, slipping back out. He had to remember the good things he had now, the things he had to stay for, so he wouldn't leave with thoughts of revenge. Everything he did, he never wants to happen again, but neither will he regret it.

Next, he slightly opened the door to peek in Raiden's room, just to make sure he was still there and safe. The boy was sprawled across his bed, snoring lustily and muttering a few words incoherently. Sasuke's relationship with Raiden was the strangest and the most strained, mostly because his son was the most stubborn, rebellious, unfeeling _gaki_ he'd ever met. He swore that the genin was more Uzumaki than Uchiha sometimes. Truth be told, Sasuke only wanted the best for his son, no matter what that meant.

Kaori's room, however, was empty, covers folded back. He knew where to find her though.

He climbed to the highest third floor, where there was only one room, but this room was the one room the eldest Uchiha would be most likely found it: the study. Raiden wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole and Kazumi had too much energy to be up here, so it was mostly left to Sasuke, Sakura, and Kaori.

"Hello, father." Sure enough, she was there, dark circles under her eyes. She was curled up in her favorite armchair, leafing through _History of Konahagakure_ casually.

He nodded, words not needed, and walked over to the armchair across from her. He picked up the book sitting next to it that he had been working on, opened to where he had bookmarked it, and started reading himself. For a few minutes, a comfortable silence reigned, one that proved they had done this frequently. In fact, the deepest conversations they'd ever had happened in this room, doing exactly what they were doing, multi-tasking by reading and conversing at the same time.

"Been training?"

She nodded. "Sparred with Jiraiya yesterday."

"Good," he replied, flipping to the next page of _Fuinjutsu: The Unmastered Art. _

Another few seconds passed by before Kaori asked a question this time. "Did you just get home?"

"Yes. Raiden and Kazumi are sleeping. I knew I'd find you here."

The daughter shrugged, eyes running back and forth as she skimmed the page. "I couldn't sleep."

Something like sympathy flashed across the father's face, but it was quickly replaced by neutral boredom, as he responded off-handedly. "It gets to be that way."

Her heart constricted, remembering the nights when she had looked up the stairs to the third floor and seen the light on, signaling that her father was still there and still tortured by his thoughts. And she so reflected that this was what it was like. To be a shinobi. The sleepless nights and tortured dreams. Her father would never mention exactly what it was that haunted him, but she knew better than to ask him. Some skeletons are better hidden.

"Inuzuka Hayato is in the hospital."

The abrupt change of topic surprised Kaori, but her eyes widened slightly as she looked up from her book. How would he know? Was Hayato involved in her father's mission? Why would he assume that she cared that much about that knuckle-headed flirt? Her eyes then narrowed slightly, gaining back her composure. She knew better than to ask any of those questions.

Sasuke shrugged. "Just thought I should let you know."

Kaori immediately adapted an air of flippancy. "Hn," she shrugged, brushing a strand of hair back from her face, "The _baka_ probably ran into a wall or something equally typical of him."

"He was in critical condition, but he'll be okay," he answered her unspoken question and swore he heard a slight _woosh_ of relief as Kaori let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. For a moment, a part of her really did freeze up, not for herself, but for Jiraiya. He couldn't lose his best friend, not this soon after what happened to their squad. She cared about the Inuzuka's well-being, although not because she particularly liked him.

Okay, some of the time he was alright.

"Anyway, I'm assuming you'll want to visit him in the morning, so feel free to do that."

Kaori ignored that comment, pretending to be too caught up in her reading.

Sasuke shot another look at his daughter as she read, his eyes sweeping over her strong jawline and dark eyes. She was just like him. Funny, but he couldn't decide if he was proud or ashamed of this fact.

* * *

><p>"Mphhh…"<p>

_Knock, knock._

"Arrrrgnnn…"

_Knock, knock._

"Go 'way."

_Thud._

Uzumaki Jiraiya felt the warmth leaving his body as the covers were pulled off him forcefully. He scrambled to find them, falling off the bed in the process and probably bruising his side. His eyes opened feebly. "Huh? Whas goin' on?"

"Morning, Uzumaki," the stone-faced Uchiha hovered over him, saying the same words she always said when dragging him out of bed.

Jiraiya scrambled up, still in a sleep daze, and grabbed a t-shirt. Apparently Kaori wasn't embarrassed by the fact that he was only in his boxers. "Jeez, Kaori-chan, you can knock, you know."

"I know," she answered, crossing her arms. "I did. You didn't answer. So, I kicked down the door."

"Aw, man," the blonde answered, rubbing his eyes. "Now I gotta re-hinge the door again, Uchiha, and you know what a pain that is."

"Well, were you going to sleep the whole day away?"

The Uzumaki flicked a look at the clock, then collapsed on his bed. "Kaori, it's only 6:30 in the morning."

"And I usually wake you up at six," she replied promptly, shuffling through his drawers for something suitable to wear. "I was feeling nice. Now let's go."

"What are we doing?" He asked, sleepily changing into the shirt she threw at him.

"We're training and then visiting Hayato."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Hm, since when do you want to see Hayato, you know, outside from when you're forced to?"

"Never," she answered curtly, eyes flashing just at his name. "It's not for my sake."

Jiraiya cocked his head in confusion. "Wanna fill me in?"

She stopped rustling through his drawers for a moment. "He's in the hospital. He'll be fine though." He took it better than she'd expected, simply looking down for a moment before nodding. There was no reading what was going through his head at that point, because although he was more talkative than she was, he was hard to read.

"Okay," he let out a deep breath. "As long as he's okay."

They were both remembering a different face though. He lingered over that face, eyes tracing it, as he tried to remember what it felt like to see her smile. Akiyama Sora. He missed her so much, his heart still ached.

"Jiraya-kun?" Kaori asked, her voice a tiny bit uncertain. Sometimes he hated when she added that ending onto his name, in that hesitant voice that she almost never used. It made him feel guilty about everything that had happened and it made him realize that, while she was damn near invincible, he could break her. Maybe it was only him and a few other people, but he had that power. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," he nodded, doing his best to keep his sanity. "Good idea."

* * *

><p>Hospitals were not Jiraiya's favorite place, but when his best friend ended up inches from death, he usually chose to pay them a visit. Thankfully, Hayato was healed enough to be awake and grinning, up to his old tricks again: Most notably, annoying the heck out of Kaori.<p>

"So," the Inuzuka grinned, his canines showing, "Are you here to bring me flowers and tend to my wounds, Kaori-chan?"

Kaori's right eye twitched. "Shut up, dog breath."

"Oh, right," he nodded, turning hazel eyes to Jiraiya. "She's still in denial."

The Uchiha muttered something unintelligible under her breath, although Jiraiya could hear the words "damn dog", "hate", and "maul".

"You know, you really should think about not doing that so often," Jiraiya commented, crossing his arms. "I mean, one day she's just gonna snap."

"Eh," the brown-haired boy shrugged. "I'll take my chances. It's my funeral, I guess."

"Just don't think I'm planning it or anything," the Uzumaki answered. "Or even really going to it, I guess."

"Fine, I-"

"Well, well, look what we have here," a new voice said as a dark-haired, blue-eyed girl with a sketchbook in hand walked in the door. "Looks like a fuming Uchiha, a daddy's boy, and an invalid." Tsuchime, the daughter of Sai and Yamanaka Ino, was certainly not afraid to criticize, although she meant it in a playful way.

"Tsuchime," Jiraiya nodded, taking no offense to her greeting mostly because that's how Tsuchime was. "Decided to pay this idiot a visit?"

"Sure," she grinned, blue eyes bright. "Besides, he is a former teammate."

"Hey, Tsuchime," Hayato said as the dark-haired girl sat in the seat next to his bed. "I talked to your boyfriend the other day."

Tsuchime cocked her head to the side. "I don't have a boyfriend anymore, remember? I broke up with him last week."

"Oh, really?" Hayato asked, raising an eyebrow as if he didn't already know this information, which Jiraiya knew he already did. "That's funny. Cause I don't have a girlfriend."

And winked.

"DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO PUT A MOVE ON ME, INUZUKA, OR I'LL DESTROY YOU SO FAST-"

Jiraiya was holding her back only because he didn't want Hayato dead. Kaori rolled her eyes. "And that's why you'll never get one, dog breath."

Their group of friends was slightly unorthodox.

* * *

><p>As soon as Jiraiya and Kaori left the hospital (leaving a devious Tsuchime to "take care" of Hayato), Kaori stopped to stare at Jiraiya fixedly.<p>

He had to laugh. "What? The guy's a riot. Loosen up a bit, will ya?"

She stopped glaring at him, but was still emanating a peeved sort of aura. "Yeah, well, you seem to forget who you are talking to."

Jiraiya was grinning like an idiot at this statement and she halfway felt the urge to smack that silly grin off him face, but it was just a fleeting surface feeling. Although she would never admit it, Hayato was good for Jiraiya- great, in fact. He needed someone to goof off with and, that way, Kaori wouldn't have to deal with it.

"Where are you going now?" She asked curiously, not sure what to do next. For the last two weeks, she hadn't known what to do next. All she did was wait around for a mission that didn't seem to be coming to her.

The blonde-haired ninja made a face in mock-surprise. "Since when do I get to decide where we go?"

Kaori's expression remained neutral. "You Uzumakis are soooo funny. And since when did I say I was going to come with you?"

"Since I was going to see if I could scrounge you up your first ANBU mission," the ANBU operative grinned. "Whaddya say?"

The kunoichi's eyes lit up as she allowed a quick smile to pass across her face. Jiraiya never thought he'd seen her happier than in that moment. _Well, _he realized. _That's Kaori for ya._

"Lead the way, Jiraiya-kun."

* * *

><p>Two minutes later, they were standing in front of the door of the Hokage's office. Jiraiya was going straight to the source of power. Kaori pursed her lips to keep herself from smiling. The boy knew how to play- she'd give him that much.<p>

Jiraiya was about to raise a hand to knock on the door, but a voice stopped both of them.

"_Dobe_! You don't understand the seriousness of the situation. She cannot leave the village until I've taken care of this."

Kaori gripped her partner's arm, stopping him from moving forward.

The occupants of the room were too busy arguing to have noticed the two of them quite yet and Kaori wished to keep it that way. Silently, the Uzumaki complied. He didn't ask the question- not yet, anyway.

"And she's gone close to three weeks without a mission! How much longer will this take? She can't live her life in fear- whether she knows it or not."

"No, you can't live your life in fear, Naruto. This is my family and my daughter. I will make the decisions."

Kaori found she couldn't breathe.

"I talked to Sakura, _teme_. She says-"

The Hokage suddenly stopped talking. Only Jiraiya's quick thinking saved her (and how many more other times) as he pushed her out of the way and she realized that she had to hide. Flipping backwards silently, she escaped to hallway, but waited next to the doorway to hear what would be said next.

Jiraiya saw the door in front of him open as he lifted a hand as if he had been about to knock. "Oh, Dad," he said brightly, "I was just about to knock."

The Hokage's face lit up almost immediately. "Jiraiya-kun! I haven't seen you lately and your mother's worried sick. I know you have your own place and everything, but you still do have to come home sometimes."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head sheepishly in response. "Sorry, I've just been really busy. I'll stop by tonight though. Minami will like that."

While Naruto was sufficiently driven off topic by his son's presence, it took Jiraiya only one look to see that Kaori's father was not. The Uchiha had a neutral expression on his face (as Kaori mostly did), but he could tell by the shifting black eyes that he was scanning the room for signs of something.

"Actually, Jiraiya-kun, we could use your help with something," the gears in the Hokage's head were quite obviously turning as the head of ANBU's eyes narrowed.

"_Dobe, _I know what you're thinking and it won't-"

"Please," Naruto waved his hand. "This is the best compromise you'll get."

"You never get tired of messing in other people's business, do you?" The dark-haired Uchiha grumbled.

Naruto grinned. "_Teme, _do you know me at all?"

And the door shut behind Jiraiya as he was made privy to yet another thing that he could never tell Kaori.

* * *

><p>It was her duty to pull him out of some dive bar later that night.<p>

"I got you a mission, though, didn't I, Kaori-chan?" He grinned at her, looking positively silly in her eyes as he almost stumbled. It was always her job to get him the heck out of dodge when he was this determined to get drunk and forget everything.

"Yes, you did," she answered. "A mission for both of us. Thank you for that."

He hiccupped and tried to get her to let go of him. "I can stand on my own, Kaori-chan. C'mon. Please let me try?"

Tired of this, she found that it was more effective simply to knock him over the head (now that they were near Hayato's apartment). Although it was the last thing that she wanted to do, she enlisted the dog boy's help.

"Dang. I'm just out of the hospital this afternoon and you're already knocking on my door," the Inuzuka grinned suggestively, leaning on the door frame with arms crossed.

"Shut up," the dark-haired ANBU rolled her eyes. "I need your help."

As soon as Hayato saw his best friend's inert form on the ground, he groaned. "Really, Kaori? What did the daddy's boy do this time that you just had to knock him out?"

"You know what, dog breath," she responded. "Now help me get him back to his place and I'll take care of the rest."

Hayato made a face. "Jeez. So demanding."

A single glare got him moving. Besides, it's not as if this was the first time he had these particular midnight callers.

When they reached their destination, Hayato gave her a mock salute and disappeared without a word, so uncharacteristic of him. Kaori fished in Jiraiya's pocket, took out his key, and unlocked the door. She got him in his bed, pausing for a moment before leaving the room.

How ironic it was that Naruto and her father thought that he would take knowing this information the best. Jiraiya was better than even Kaori at deception. Whatever had caused him to fall off the wagon tonight was something that Kaori was hesitant to know.

She smoothed his disheveled bangs affectionately and then went into the living room, picking out a book to read until he woke up, all the while thinking, turning the situation around in her head.

_Jiraiya-kun, what can't you tell me?_


End file.
